What is Port wine?

Port is a sweet, fortified wine, high in alcohol due to the addition of a neutral spirit during fermentation. Port style wines are produced in many countries and wine regions around the world, but its origin is with a wine produced in the Douro valley east of Oporto in Portugal. The basics types of Port are wood and bottle aged, wood aged port being white, ruby, tawny, late bottled vintage as well as old tawnies and colheita tawnies, while bottle Port are traditional late-bottled vintage and vintage.

First a little history of Port: it's origin are closely tied to the geopolitics of 17th century Europe, as both Holland and Britain had declared war on France, they needed an alternative for their citizen's appetite for French wines. The Dutch and British who were already trading with Portugal (textiles and pottery), saw the merits of the wines produced in the outlying regions around Oporto. They were simple red table wines, and like in Cognac, they started adding brandy to the wines in the hope to stabilize the wines before shipping. The Marques de Pombal, the Portuguese prime minister, who established the Old Wine Co. in 1756, is given credit for creating the port trade as we know it today by regulating it.

Vintage port originates in remote vineyards of the Douro valley that have little in common with the well manicured wines of renowned chateaux of Bordeaux. It was made in archaic conditions and then floated down river more than 100 miles to be aged in dusty old warehouses, under conditions that seem to make a mockery of modern oenology, yet vintage Port remains one of the world's greatest wines. It is hard to imagine that anything can grow in the Upper Douro Valley. The climate is tough, with temperatures reaching over 110 degrees and while it freezes in winter, the terrain is almost lunar in its ruggedness and desolation. The soil is hard and retain little water and offers little nutrient. Most of the work is done by hand on the steeply terraced banks of the river. These extreme conditions are reflected in the character of the wine, its depth, heartiness and longevity. The making of vintage Port is very similar to that of wine at least in the beginning, first comes the harvest, then the crush, the must (the mass of grapes and juice) is then placed in a fermentation tank or "lagar", after 2 or 3 days the juice is run off in a large wooden cask, the "tonel", now comes the different process: while the wine is being racked 77 percent grape alcohol is added to the juice as it enters the "tonel". The young port then remains in the casks until the spring following the harvest when it is moved by tanker truck to lodges in Vila Nova de Gaia -it used to be floated down the Douro in sail barges-, these casks are then stored in "toneis" (smaller barrels) and left to mature for another year. Blending of vintage lots begins in February of the second year. The final blend is made and samples are submitted to the Instituto do Vinho do Porto for government approval, the young port is then bottled without stabilization or filtration

I always keep an extensive selection of Port by the glass at Mille Fleurs which has grown from my customers demand. Next time you visit, try a glass of Ruby or a glass of Tawny to punctuated a fine meal. Cheers!